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"Era of Undying"
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“Rules, sorry. You’re dead now.”
Pen has a buried secret. She could very well be the last living Blood Warrior in existence. With her wounds still fresh from the death of her husband and son, the future of her kind seems bleak. Self-preservation has become her primary focus, but shouldn’t be difficult during the “Era of Undying”. People are no longer passing away, and King Aegeus suspects that this crime against humanity has something to do with the Goddess Nyx. Pen is faced with an ultimatum, and uncovering a secret could be her only means of reuniting with the love she lost, as she embarks on a mystical journey too dangerous for any mere mortal.
Pen has a buried secret. She could very well be the last living Blood Warrior in existence. With her wounds still fresh from the death of her husband and son, the future of her kind seems bleak. Self-preservation has become her primary focus, but shouldn’t be difficult during the “Era of Undying”. People are no longer passing away, and King Aegeus suspects that this crime against humanity has something to do with the Goddess Nyx. Pen is faced with an ultimatum, and uncovering a secret could be her only means of reuniting with the love she lost, as she embarks on a mystical journey too dangerous for any mere mortal.
Readability
“Era of Undying” begins with a prologue that did not set up the narrative in any meaningful way. Prologues are typically used to foreshadow major events to hook the reader or to outline the scope of the story, before introducing main characters and/or revealing their involvement. Regardless of that minor oversight, the narrative is decently delivered from a third person perspective, and follows a linear structure as the main character’s storyline unfolds. The story does feature a handful of minor support characters, which offered some light juxtaposition to challenge the main character’s views/values, but none all too significant in the grand scheme. Pen was all like, “Screw you guys. I do what I want,” which was great for the narrative’s pacing but often harmful for the overall plot.
Creativity
I was under the impression that Knight struggled a bit when developing the magic in this book. As a “Blood Warrior”, Pen can manipulate her blood at will (so long as she has an open wound) to take shape of various solid objects. Let me put it this way, she definitely doesn’t have an iron deficiency. When Pen was finished wielding her blood as weapons or tools, she’d return the blood to her body, but before she can do that she has to make sure it is “clean”. Her character would collect her blood into a sphere and literally wipe it clean with whatever cloth was handy. Of course being a reader with a basic understanding of bacteria and bloodborne pathogens, I found this aspect of Pen’s magic quite disengaging. I would have been able to suspend disbelief if that bloody stipulation was never even mentioned. Instead, Knight decided to stretch the truth with Pen’s magic, by addressing something that was unnecessary given the narrative. Trying to add realism in this context was irrelevant (not to mention illogical) in the grand scheme - as this element of realism never served any meaningful purpose, and only served to pull me out of the story whenever it was brought up.
I think Pen’s means of accessing her magic is quite interesting given the grim dark theme that Knight was aiming for. Pen’s character kept a small razor blade hidden in the sleeve of her shirt that she would use to release her blood. She’s a cutter! I think this was one of the most morbid concepts in the whole book, and it went mostly overlooked as nothing more than a means to an end.
Delivery
The plot suggests that the book was meant to be an action packed fantasy with a grim dark theme featuring elements of horror, but I thought the pacing delivered more on one aspect rather than being a balanced mix of all the above. There wasn’t much time invested in character development and I never really felt as vested in the plot as I could have been. I was often wondering what the Blood Warriors’ significance was within the world. Pen’s character behaves like a brat, and is a pathological liar whose respect for life is based on her own subjective outlook. I wondered who all those people were that she murdered in cold blood in the prologue, and why they weren’t involved with her imprisonment. The only redeemable character that played a somewhat significant role in the story was Tellus, but he was such a pushover! Throughout the story, everything he does on Pen’s behalf was totally unwarranted, and throughout the story she constantly treats him with disregard with one exception made when the two of them were employed by the Ragged Wolves. I thought it was so annoying to see character after character making concessions for Pen, especially when she had been so dishonest and had cost them so much. Pen’s character starts out as a total misanthrope, who lacks personal accountability as well as reason, and also suffers from penis envy - but she does become somewhat less solipsistic by the end of the book.
I liked the fact that there was a fair amount of action and the story doesn’t skimp on the violence. I would have liked it if Knight had used more vivid details to bring the imagery of those scenes to life, as they read more like crime scene snapshots than physical experiences. I also think the narrative needed more perspective. For instance, what happened when Raisa went to save the queen, but more importantly what was her true motivations for doing so (besides out of the kindness of her heart, because everyone is just dying to help Pen)? I just felt as though the story revolves too much around Pen and what motivates her, but she really wasn’t the kind of character that I could root for.
“Era of Undying” begins with a prologue that did not set up the narrative in any meaningful way. Prologues are typically used to foreshadow major events to hook the reader or to outline the scope of the story, before introducing main characters and/or revealing their involvement. Regardless of that minor oversight, the narrative is decently delivered from a third person perspective, and follows a linear structure as the main character’s storyline unfolds. The story does feature a handful of minor support characters, which offered some light juxtaposition to challenge the main character’s views/values, but none all too significant in the grand scheme. Pen was all like, “Screw you guys. I do what I want,” which was great for the narrative’s pacing but often harmful for the overall plot.
Creativity
I was under the impression that Knight struggled a bit when developing the magic in this book. As a “Blood Warrior”, Pen can manipulate her blood at will (so long as she has an open wound) to take shape of various solid objects. Let me put it this way, she definitely doesn’t have an iron deficiency. When Pen was finished wielding her blood as weapons or tools, she’d return the blood to her body, but before she can do that she has to make sure it is “clean”. Her character would collect her blood into a sphere and literally wipe it clean with whatever cloth was handy. Of course being a reader with a basic understanding of bacteria and bloodborne pathogens, I found this aspect of Pen’s magic quite disengaging. I would have been able to suspend disbelief if that bloody stipulation was never even mentioned. Instead, Knight decided to stretch the truth with Pen’s magic, by addressing something that was unnecessary given the narrative. Trying to add realism in this context was irrelevant (not to mention illogical) in the grand scheme - as this element of realism never served any meaningful purpose, and only served to pull me out of the story whenever it was brought up.
I think Pen’s means of accessing her magic is quite interesting given the grim dark theme that Knight was aiming for. Pen’s character kept a small razor blade hidden in the sleeve of her shirt that she would use to release her blood. She’s a cutter! I think this was one of the most morbid concepts in the whole book, and it went mostly overlooked as nothing more than a means to an end.
Delivery
The plot suggests that the book was meant to be an action packed fantasy with a grim dark theme featuring elements of horror, but I thought the pacing delivered more on one aspect rather than being a balanced mix of all the above. There wasn’t much time invested in character development and I never really felt as vested in the plot as I could have been. I was often wondering what the Blood Warriors’ significance was within the world. Pen’s character behaves like a brat, and is a pathological liar whose respect for life is based on her own subjective outlook. I wondered who all those people were that she murdered in cold blood in the prologue, and why they weren’t involved with her imprisonment. The only redeemable character that played a somewhat significant role in the story was Tellus, but he was such a pushover! Throughout the story, everything he does on Pen’s behalf was totally unwarranted, and throughout the story she constantly treats him with disregard with one exception made when the two of them were employed by the Ragged Wolves. I thought it was so annoying to see character after character making concessions for Pen, especially when she had been so dishonest and had cost them so much. Pen’s character starts out as a total misanthrope, who lacks personal accountability as well as reason, and also suffers from penis envy - but she does become somewhat less solipsistic by the end of the book.
I liked the fact that there was a fair amount of action and the story doesn’t skimp on the violence. I would have liked it if Knight had used more vivid details to bring the imagery of those scenes to life, as they read more like crime scene snapshots than physical experiences. I also think the narrative needed more perspective. For instance, what happened when Raisa went to save the queen, but more importantly what was her true motivations for doing so (besides out of the kindness of her heart, because everyone is just dying to help Pen)? I just felt as though the story revolves too much around Pen and what motivates her, but she really wasn’t the kind of character that I could root for.
#LFLR Indie Rating: 4/10
I thought “Era of Undying” was okay as a straightforward and mostly dry adventure tale, and I appreciated the nods made to Greek Mythology. The plot could have been elaborated on a little more to incorporate prominent character arcs, and I thought the prose needed more elbow grease. Emilie Knight followed up “Era of Undying” with a prequel entitled “Dagger and Scythe”, and she has just recently released the third (and largest) installment of The Ichorian Epics - “Grief of the Undying”.
I thought “Era of Undying” was okay as a straightforward and mostly dry adventure tale, and I appreciated the nods made to Greek Mythology. The plot could have been elaborated on a little more to incorporate prominent character arcs, and I thought the prose needed more elbow grease. Emilie Knight followed up “Era of Undying” with a prequel entitled “Dagger and Scythe”, and she has just recently released the third (and largest) installment of The Ichorian Epics - “Grief of the Undying”.
THIS BREAKDOWN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE #LFLR NETWORK.
